


Aries

by Seruitutem



Series: The Zodiac Project [3]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Exploring a little into the stigma against Asians for a second here, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-28
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2019-02-23 05:39:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13183494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seruitutem/pseuds/Seruitutem
Summary: Aries is the hot-head, but sometimes, his anger is justified.





	Aries

**Author's Note:**

> I'm honestly surprised at the lack of study on the amount of stigma against Asians in this game. I admit, this was inspired by Danse's outburst at Takashi, but exploring this stigma begged to happen. 
> 
> Aries is my zodiac, we're naturally stubborn and quick to anger, but we're also fiercely loyal.

Aries.

Aries was the God of War, the Ram, a symbol of strength. For that same trait, he was given the alias. He was also given a suit of power armor while in service, a lovely set of T-60, souped up with one of the first jet packs of the company. Where Gemini had been lorded for their sharp shooting, and while Capricorn was known for his tech skills, Aries quickly, easily, made it known that he was the muscle behind the company.

He wore the very same suit of power armor when he came across Cambridge Police. Rust buffed away, joints oiled up, core replaced, and a new coat of Hot Rodder flames paint, he looked more like an Atom Cat than ex-military. Duke had even mistaken him for Bluejay at first glance. Nice kids. Easily impressed when Aries crushed a few gunners without the use of firearms.

Danse had been cautious. His own face was exposed, his identity easily discovered, Aries remained helmeted.

"You're former military," Danse commented, watching Aries drop a feral with a rather rough uppercut. "You mentioned it in med bay."

"Yeah?" A knife to the temple, another ghoul down. "Got something to say about it?"?

"It's one of the reasons why I vouched for you, sponsored you as an initiate. You have as much discipline as any Knight, and yet, your ideals stray from those of the Brotherhood. What was it like, before the bombs?" Nothing accusatory in his tone, just genuine curiosity. Almost innocent, even. Aries then realized just how far apart their prospective worlds were.

"Warfare before the bombs, not entirely different from now, in the Brotherhood. We have factions, more than you do. The Marines, Navy SEALs, air force, all under the umbrella term of military, but entirely different clubs."

Danse nodded, popping off a feral to the left, and another.

"Actually being on the field, it's the stuff of nightmares. I heard stories from the Iraq war from vets before my time, of hidden mines on roads, kids strapped to bombs sent to outposts, bombs hidden in trash piles." The coast was clear, and the pair advanced. Danse clomped at his side, while Aries kept low and quiet.

"My time, though," He trailed off, slipping a bobby pin into the door lock. "It was different." The door popped open, and he clicked on the light on his Pip-Boy. "We thought we were above the barbarism of the older days. If anything, it just got worse. Any Asian on American soil was seen as a spy, treated like an enemy, detained for saying something in the wrong tone. Even my brothers in arms-"

"The Chinese were the enemy, they nuked the world, the suspicion was justified-"

Aries cut Danse off with a sharp rap of his knuckles against his power armor. "You didn't live it, Paladin." His tone was sharp, icy. "My brothers in arms, not even of Chinese descent, were treated with the same distrust, despite risking their lives to protect this fucking country." To his credit, Danse didn't retort. "War crimes against American citizens rose to alarming numbers, prison camps made a comeback, just like in the second world war. We fought for those people, most of us lost limbs- pieces of ourselves, but to the public, we could have just been spies for the enemy.

"Do you know what that feels like, Paladin? To give every part of yourself to the service, only for your own identity to be used against you? Suspicion and fear, everyone gets scared, but to allow such inhumane treatment-"

The rant was cut off then by a spray of laser shots. Synths, great.

 

 

Both had returned to the Prydwen with minimal damage, and with their payload. Aries hadn't spoken a word since the interruption, not even when Danse had commended him for a job well done. That seemed to gnaw at him.

"It really bothers you, doesn't it? Even now."

"No shit."

"Because your comrades-"

"Not just because of them." Aries was bent over, jerking his bootlaces tight. "They were my family, yes, and I'd put myself in front of a bullet for them, but my anger isn't just because of them."

Danse remained silent, a careful pause between his next words and the last.

"Fuck-" Aries stood and crossed the room with purposeful strides, yanking a discarded, faintly stained towel from the rod. Furiously, he rubbed at his face, wiping off black face paint and smudges of soot. His voice was muffled, "I lived it, too, Paladin."

He raised his face, faint smudges of black still visible around his eyes. "My real name is off record, but that doesn't amount to shit anymore- Akira Takamine. I was born in a suburb of Tokyo, but I am an American citizen, I _earned_ it. I fought for it. My _slanty eyes_ and darker-than-white skin doesn't take away from that, no matter how fucking spooked anyone else is by it. You say that suspicion was justified, I call bullshit."

He whipped the stained towel to the floor, daring Danse with his stare to argue. "You have the luxury of being born a thoroughbred American, in a time where anyone who cared about the color of your skin has long since died. The war is over for you, but not for me. Every time I close my eyes, I see my countrymen forcing Korean, Japanese, Chinese, _anyone_ with too much fat in their eyelids and a name you can't pronounce into captivity. And I remember, at any time, it could have been me, if not for my badge.

"I got to grow up in a world where America hated you for being Asian, and the enemy hated you for being American. That's why it bothers me."

He stormed passed Danse, yanking off his bomber jacket.

 

 

"I know what you meant, back then." Danse spoke softly, lacking the authoritative, confident tone he usually carried. His broad shoulders were slumped. Out of power armor, for the first time since they met, he looked so small. So vulnerable. "Being targeted, blamed, for any slight, because of who you are."

Aries couldn't find it in himself to be angry, not anymore. Empathy won out in the end. He set down the gun he was in the middle of upgrading, faced Danse, "You do, you gave yourself to the service, and you saw yourself stripped of all your hard work. All your accomplishments, respect." He leaned back against the workbench, arms crossed over his chest. "I'm not gonna rub your face in it. You didn't deserve what happened to you. But do you now understand, also, why I ignored my orders to execute you?"

Danse nodded, still staring at the ground. It was so pitiful, how far he'd fallen. Civilian life wouldn't kill him, but the glory days of being Paladin Danse were over. His livelihood, his reason for being, gone. It'd take a while to bounce back from that. But he could.

Aries would be there to help him along.

"I do, and now, I can appreciate your decision, and respect it." He finally looked up, dark eyes holding a faint glimmer, the mere ghost of the spark they once held. Better than the nothingness from days earlier. "For once, I can see you as the role model, learn from you. How to get back up and keep moving." The corners of his mouth twitched. "You became an enemy of the Brotherhood to give me a second chance. You threw away a promising career, the role of Sentinel, for a friend."

"Friend?"

"We're not comrades anymore, neither of us have status in the Brotherhood, friends seems appropriate to describe what we are now."

Aries laughed for the first time since waking in the Vault. "Friends. Yeah. Sounds about right."

"Though, I can't say I'm still not even a little upset over what transpired, I'm decent enough to say I'm grateful. My death wouldn't have accomplished anything, not even for the Brotherhood, but in saving me, they lost two good soldiers. Can you say it's worth that?"

"I was a soldier before the bombs dropped, Danse. A lot of tough decision were made then, and they were worth it. Same goes for now. It goes against my moral code to fell a comrade under dubious circumstances. Now, if you'd gone rogue and gunned down civilians, I'd have popped you good."

Danse let out a laugh, albeit, half hearted. "It feels as if I had. My fabricated history made it easy to view anything inhuman as vermin. Actually being one changes a lot of things."

"It'll take a while to adapt. I never got the chance to adapt back to civilian life, myself. All we can do is take it one day at a time. But shit-" he ran a hand through his stark white hair. "These days, maybe civilian life is closer to military life than I'm comfortable admitting. Kids these days carry a gun."

"These are dangerous times, the Institute is still around every corner, another person goes missing. We may never go back to the times where civilians can rest easy."

"All the more reason to stick together, keep doing what we do. I hear the Minutemen are regrouping at the Castle. They may be our ticket to felling the Bogeyman of the Commonwealth. If you're still up for protecting the people, that is. Synth or not, you're still Danse."

Danse smiled, really, truly smiled. "They can take away my power armor, my rank, and my weapon, but they can't take away my sense of duty, nor my identity." He extended a hand, and Aries took it.


End file.
